Most conventional chairs or sitting devices dictate a posture whereby the weight of the person seated in the chair is supported almost entirely, if not entirely, by the seat portion of the chair and the spine of the user receives essentially the entire stress associated with maintaining such posture. Further, the conventional chair dictates a posture whereby the legs are at substantially a right angle to the upper body. This radical angle places stress on the hip joints and lower spine, and places the body in an unnatural and unbalanced position.
There have been attempts to design chairs which reduce the stress on the user's spine and hip joints by distributing the user's weight between a seat and a knee and/or lower leg support, thus placing the body in a more naturally balanced seated position. One such device is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,991, issued to Mengshoel, et al., on May 11, 1982. This patent discloses a sitting device comprising a seat and a supporting means for the knee or calf leg portion of the user, thus allowing the user's weight to be distributed between the seat and such support means. However, the distance between the seat and the knee support means is fixed, and no provision is made for the adjustment of the device to compensate for variations in the stature of the various users, or simply for adjusting the device for the preferences of various users. Similarly, the chair disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 3,669,493, issued on June 13, 1972, to J. H. Vowles, discloses a chair with a knee support. Although this chair allows certain adjustments to be made to compensate for the stature of the user, and for changes of posture, the design of the chair will not allow the distance between the seat and the knee support to be altered without altering the angular attitude or tilt of the seat or the knee support, with the reverse being true as well.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sit-kneel chair which allows the weight of the user to be distributively supported by a seat and a knee support so as to relieve spinal stress.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a sit-kneel chair which allows a sitting posture whereby the bend at the hip of the user is greater than the ninety (90) degree angle associated with the conventional sitting position, thus reducing stress on the lower back.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a sit-kneel chair which allows the pivotal position of both the seat and the knee support to be independently adjusted and which allows the distance between the seat and the knee support to be adjusted independent of such pivotal adjustment.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a sit-kneel chair which allows independent height adjustment of the seat and knee support.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a sit-kneel chair which is inexpensive to manufacture and maintain.